Digimon: In the Devil's Grasp
by Keyblade Master of Promise
Summary: Six years after the battle with MaloMyotismon, the Digidestined are plunged back into an adventure in the Digital World as a good friend of theirs goes missing. One of our heroes becomes a target by an all-to-familiar villain as a deeper, darker plot begins to unfurl. Takari, as well as some other relationships. Part 1 of a 2 part series.


Disclaimer: I do not own Digimon, its characters, or anything of the like. However, this story is my original idea and I hope you enjoy it :).

A/N: Well, this is the beginning of the new Even Against the Darkness Digimon Series. I know some of my old fans/readers might find it bored to read a refurbished work, but I still do like to see what you all think about it. So please, please, please review. High review counts will encourage me to get this construction project rolling even more quickly. At any rate, please enjoy, and review!

Chapter 1: Routines Abound

Six years after the battle with the terrible MaloMyotismon, the Digidestined are living normal, quiet, uneventful and, admittedly "boring" lives. Yes, they would keep up with their friends in the Digital World as much as possible, but visits were difficult to come by as most of the Digidestined were either in late high school or early college going through their usual school routines. These young adults were completely unaware that things were about to get interesting, excruciatingly so.

In the Digital World, horizons were beginning to darken.

"I have to hurry—" A man's voice echoed through the otherwise quiet and unassuming house-like building. "I have to hurry! I'm running out of time!" The middle-aged man frantically searched through books. "There!" He exclaimed as he slammed the opened book down on his desk. "Shrine of Prophecy." The sandy-blonde man whispered as he pulled out some paper and fervently began to write. Once he was finished, the man began to look around frantically again, folding the paper in his hand. He then carefully slid the paper into a small crack in the wall. "Perfect—I hope they find it." He smiled in satisfaction as he grabbed a nearby knapsack, holding it over his shoulder as he went to a nearby computer and began to furiously type. "Now, time to get out of—." The sudden thud of the front door flying open interrupted the man.

"Knock-Knock! Is anyone home? I do hope I'm not late for the party." A sinister cackle shot through the house as a large, white towel came flying through the hallway, ensnaring the sandy-blond man. All of a sudden, electricity began to course through the towel, causing the man to seemingly disappear, leaving the towel behind. A shadow approached the towel and picked it up, revealing a small, cartoon-looking keychain version of the man that was trapped by it. "So good of you to join us, Gennai."

(In the Real World)

"Mom, I'm going to be late for school, how much longer?" our favorite blonde, hat-wearing Digidestined called from the entryway of his apartment.

"All right, all right, just get in the car, I'll be there in a sec," she replied.

T.K. obeyed and went to the car. He didn't blame her because she was going on a date after she dropped him off at school. She and dad were getting back together, and this fact overjoyed him to be with his older brother Matt again without some evil Digimon hunting him down. This was not at the forefront of his mind though. It was _her_, Kari Kamiya, the girl he had known almost his whole life, but in all that time could never admit his feelings for her. His mom walked out the door, locking it and went into the car, "All right, sorry about the wait. I'll write a letter to the principal if you're late, hon." She stated as she buckled her seatbelt.

"Oh no, it's alright, you know how I feel about you and dad getting back together, so the wait's not a problem." He assured his mother, to which she just smiled and backed out the driveway, heading towards his school.

Upon their arrival, T.K. waved to his mom and proceeded toward the building. He had a good feeling about this year. What helped was that he had always maintained contact with Kari (not that it was hard, they only lived a few minutes away). From what he knew, he shared homeroom and several classes with her. As he walked up the main hallway stairs, he admired his new high school. Yes, it was farther away than the previous building, but it was more student-friendly. It had wider hallways, larger lockers, and best of all, a larger basketball arena. He'd be waiting all summer for a chance to hoist a championship trophy in center court.

He shoved this to the back of his mind as he remembered that he had to make homeroom and inform his teacher of his arrival. T.K. knew he wouldn't be counted late as his teacher was nice because as long as you told her that you were present before the bell. He reported in and then went to his locker, proceeding to put away his belongings, including his trademark fisherman's hat. He gathered his textbooks and proceeded to homeroom and took his seat.

_(Earlier that day)_

"All righty, what's for breakfast?" A slender brunette pondered as she looked through the pantry. "I hope Tai didn't eat the last of the apples," Kari grumbled as her quest for breakfast was beginning to turn south. Suddenly, her eyes lit up with excitement as she found the precious fruit that she was eagerly looking for. "Wow! Tai actually left some behind." She chuckled as she saw not one, but _two_ of them.

She ate her breakfast and finished preparing for school. She then waited for Tai to come pick her up, taking in the dawn-colored sky as she waited. Turns out, her brother was a decent driver, except for when his road-rage showed its ugly head. This morning turned out fine though, the roads were clear and easy to navigate and seemingly every light was green as they drove through.

Kari got out of the car after Tai pulled up to the entrance of the school. "Thanks, Tai. Love you." She waved as Tai gave the peace sign and drove off. The young brunette then entered her high school. After she dropped up off her belongings and picked up her books she went to her homeroom. As she sat down, a smile crept across her face as she remembered that she shared homeroom, as well as few other classes, with her best friend, T.K.

T.K.—just the thought of him almost always seemed to bring a smile to her face. Maybe it was the fact that he always seemed to make sure that she was doing okay, or perhaps it was how he always made an effort to make her laugh when she wasn't in the best of moods. No, it wasn't so much those was it was how he always seemed to go to the ends of the world and back for her, even at his own expense. Now, she found it interesting, to be sure, but she didn't think much about it because he was always that way—always a gentleman. It was his most endearing quality. However, it was because of his unchanging personality that she left any dreams of a relationship with him as just that: a dream.

Something was off about today though. T.K. was running the risk of being late. He was almost always a good ten minutes early, but it was two minutes until the hour. Suddenly, the door opened and T.K.'s hair leaned through it.

"Good morning, Mrs. Tekai. I'm here, I just have to visit my locker." The blonde youth greeted as he sheepishly smiled.

"Thanks fine, Takeru, I'll mark you present." The teacher smiled back before she resumed to grading some leftover papers. With that, T.K. hurried away, returning back to the room a few minutes later. After settling himself down and double checking his books, he looked up at Kari, who was sitting behind him.

"Good morning, how are things?" Both teens spoke simultaneously, prompting a chuckle from both of them.

"Things are going great, thank you." Kari giggled, smiling at T.K.

"Heh, that's good to hear." The young man warmly smiled. "I'm really looking forward to this year."

"Yeah, me too." Kari smiled back as she traced outlines on her notebook cover. "I think it's going to turn out to be a great one."

A/N: Well, first chapter is out and ready. I had fun going over this and working on it, and I hope you all enjoyed it and one way to let me know what you think is to review, so please do?

Thanks, and as in the old days,

~KBMP, out.


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